Henry becomes first Miner to clear 17 feet in pole vault
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| Jordan Henry |
EMPORIA, Kan. -- Missouri S&T's Jordan Henry cleared a height Saturday that no other pole vaulter wearing a Miner uniform ever had -- the 17-foot mark.
Henry cleared that height at the Emporia State Twilight Qualifier, breaking his own school record in the event that he set just two weeks ago. His clearance of 17-feet is the highest ever by an S&T pole vaulter, as Henry also holds the indoor mark of 16-10 3/4 that he set at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in March.
The junior from St. Charles had already earned a berth to the outdoor nationals after going over the bar at 16-8 at Missouri Southern on April 25. A week ago, he won the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship in the event after winning the league's indoor title two months earlier.
Henry had the eighth-best pole vault mark during the outdoor season prior to Saturday, but his mark at ESU moved him up to possibly as high as fifth, depending on the results of other meets taking place Saturday. He was second in the competition to Kansas' Jordan Scott who cleared 17-7.
Jared Anders and Peter Hollenbeck tied for fourth in the pole vault with clearances of 15-4 1/4. Hollenbeck, who was second to Henry in the pole vault last week at SIUE, had the 15th-best pole vault mark in the country heading into the final weekend of competition while Anders was ranked 19th.
The lone women's competitor from S&T at the meet, Tamara McCaskill, cleared 5-5 1/4 to finish third in the high jump. She was ranked 14th nationally in the event heading into the meet.
The NCAA will release the list of qualifiers for the Division II Championships Tuesday. The national meet begins May 22 in Walnut, Calif.